This week’s North West appointments

Fallon Gilhooley, Armstrong Craven

Recruiter Armstrong Craven has announced an appointment in its healthcare and life sciences team.

Fallon Gilhooley has joined the company as a global client partner. Her background includes senior recruitment roles in the UK, Europe and Australia.

Armstrong Craven’s practice director for healthcare and life sciences, Olivia Wynn, said: “The Healthcare and Life Sciences team continues to go from strength to strength, working with a large number of multinational corporations both within specific regions and on a more global scale.

“Fallon is the latest important addition to our own team of talent and will allow us to take our mapping, pipelining and insight services into a number of new and exciting areas.”

Fallon commented: “I am delighted to join Armstrong Craven and look forward to helping clients take a more strategic approach to talent acquisition.

“Our services enable businesses to win the race to fill scarce and senior roles with the best possible talent.”

Chris Cumber, Mike Clarke and Andrew Kopciowski, BDO

BDO, the accountancy and business advisory firm, has added to its Northern M&A practice with the appointment of Mike Clarke.

Mike has returned to the company following two years with growth capital investor BGF, taking up the role of director.

At BGF, Mike led on the investment board and backed a number of the region’s ambitious mid-market companies, including restaurant and deli chain Filmore & Union and leisure operator Coppergreen Developments.

Joining him are Chris Cumber and Andrew Kopciowski.

Senior manager Chris, who previously worked for law firm Brabners, will be based at BDO’s Manchester office. Corporate finance executive Andrew is based in Liverpool and previously worked within BDO’s audit team.

Mike said: “Our region is home to a lot of great management teams who can take advantage of the abundance of capital in the market currently looking for a home.

“It is a great time to be raising equity investment, whether it is to de-risk, fund working capital or make acquisitions.”

He added: “My appointment brings a re-energised focus on development capital deals and reinforces BDO’s commitment to mid-sized businesses.”

BDO partner Jason Whitworth commented: “The M&A team has had a stand-out year and our continued investment and success is testament to our entrepreneurial and ambitious clients across the North.

“We will continue to look to increase our capabilities across our Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool offices to cover the northern region.”

Jason continued: “We are very pleased to welcome Mike back and it is great to see our people develop. We continue to provide an environment in which they can carve out successful careers.”

Anjali Roberts, Ben Carter and Philip Thompson, Deepbridge

Investment management company Deepbridge has taken on three recruits.

Anjali Roberts and Ben Carter are now investment managers with the firm, while Philip Thompson has been appointed as business development manager.

In her new position, Anjali will work with advisors across the Merseyside area. Ben will work within Deepbridge’s life sciences team.

Philip, meanwhile, will support the company’s growing advisor community in Central England.

Deepbridge managing partner Ian Warwick said of the appointments: “Ben brings fantastic experience and will be a real asset to the team.

“Anjali and Philip both marry considerable financial services experience with the personalities to be a real asset to our adviser community.”

He added: “This is not the end of our recruitment in 2018 as we will see further new faces joining us throughout the year as we continue to grow as a business.”

John Irving, Liverpool John Lennon Airport

Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) is getting a new CEO.

John Irving, currently chief commercial officer at Newcastle International Airport, will take up his new position on March 12.

A qualified management accountant, John held senior commercial and financial positions with Newcastle United FC and manufacturer Procter & Gamble before moving into aviation.

John said: “I am very excited at being given the opportunity to take this business forward at a time when the Peel Group’s continued investment in the airport has seen Liverpool become one of the UK’s stand-out regional airports.

“I am thoroughly looking forward to building on this recent success and for Liverpool to continue to be the faster, easier, friendlier Airport of choice for passengers from across the region.”

Robert Hough, airport chairman, commented, “John has helped Newcastle Airport make significant progress in his time there and we are therefore delighted to welcome him in his new role here at Liverpool, bringing drive and determination to take the Airport on to the next level and to realise its tremendous potential.

“John will also be a great asset for the City Region too, developing the Airport’s strategic importance through improved connectivity, helping to attract further inward investment and bringing continued benefits for the region’s visitor economy.”

Gavin Jones, Hill Dickinson

Law firm Hill Dickinson has appointed Gavin Jones as a partner in its Manchester-based restructuring and insolvency team.

Gavin was previously national head of business restructuring with rival firm DWF LLP and has more than 25 years’ experience in both transactional non-contentious work and insolvency litigation.

The appointment marks a return to Hill Dickinson for Gavin, who worked as an associate at Hill Taylor Dickinson from 1993 to 1997.

Gavin said: “I’m pleased to re-join Hill Dickinson at this exciting time for the firm as it further expands its business services offering.

“We anticipate a strong growth in opportunities in the restructuring sector as Brexit influences how businesses organise themselves. I look forward to bringing my experience to bear to meet this challenge on behalf of Hill Dickinson’s clients.”

The firm’s head of business services, partner David Chinn, commented: “Gavin is an extremely valuable addition to our business restructuring practice.

“He brings a wealth of experience and contacts which will be invaluable as we drive growth in this area.”

He added: “I look forward to working with him to meet growing client demand both here in Manchester and across the UK.”

Lynda Shillaw, Crown Estate

Lynda Shillaw, divisional CEO of property with Manchester Airports Group (MAG), has been appointed to the board of real estate business The Crown Estate.

At MAG, Lynda is responsible for the group’s investment and development portfolio across its three airports.

The Crown Estate boasts a £13bn real estate portfolio that includes commercial property in central London, prime retail across the UK and offshore wind, in addition to rural and coastal assets.

The organisation returns all its profits to the Treasury. Takings totalled almost £330m last year.

Crown Estate chairman Robin Budenberg said: “We are delighted to welcome Lynda to the Board. She brings a diversity of experience from managing multi-faceted property estates across different regions of the UK and different asset classes, including office, retail and farmland.

“She has a deep interest in sustainable placemaking, focussing on nurturing a sense of community in both urban and rural environments.”

Robin added: “This unusual diversity of experience will be invaluable to The Crown Estate as it seeks to create brilliant places and deliver a strong return to the nation’s finances.”

Lynda commented: “I am honoured to be joining The Crown Estate’s Board. It is a business which thinks long-term about how it creates value to deliver a positive impact for its customers, partners, and the communities where it operates.

“I very much look forward to working with Robin and the Board, including Alison Nimmo and her talented team, to ensure it remains an outstanding UK success story.”

The hire was made in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The position is appointed by the Queen under Royal Warrant.

Jack Mason, Dreamr

The former head of operations at Manchester app development agency Dreamr is set to become the firm’s CEO.

Jack Mason (pictured left) will take the reins from fellow co-founder Mylo Kaye (right), who is moving into the role of non-executive director.

Mylo said: “Jack and I have worked together tirelessly since launching the business back in 2014; he has been instrumental in growing the business alongside me and in taking leadership of the operations, so this is a natural evolution for us as we grow and continue to push the boundaries in creating innovative products and expanding the team.”

Jack commented: “2018 is set to be a great year for Dreamr and I am excited to be leading the business forward in my new role as CEO.

“Mylo has been exceptional in driving growth to date, and this change will allow Mylo to focus ‘on’ the business rather than working ‘in’ the business alongside his passion, which is reducing poverty in Manchester, something I know means a lot to Mylo – whilst I manage the day to day growth.”

Frances Massie, Oliver Roby and Samara Stewart, eJIGSAW

eJIGSAW, the Chester-based creative and digital agency, has announced three new appointments.

Frances Massie (pictured) has joined the company as a front-end developer, Oliver Roby as digital business development manager and Samara Stewart as digital marketing manager.

Chris Percival, CEO of eJIGSAW, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Frances, Oliver, and Samara to the team, to cap off what has been an incredible first year for eJIGSAW since we started the company last January.

“We really feel that we have put together an incredible team here at eJIGSAW that can rival any agency in the North West and with some exciting projects in the pipeline, we’re looking forward to an even better second year.”